The best bird photography opportunity of the day happened when I spotted a Burrowing Owl near its burrow and I took advantage of the nice light to take quite a few images of the owl framed by grasses and blooming Red-stem Filaree.
When I found a Black-billed Magpie on the rocks close to the road below Frary Peak I was happy to photograph it there.
Wow, today is the last day of the year 2016. This is my photographic year in review from Utah, Idaho and Montana!
I had fun photographing the Common Raven and the Common Goldeneyes yesterday and even though the cold temps made my fingers numb, these birds were the highlight of my day.
The long-awaited Scrub-Jay split has officially happened! Western Scrub-Jay can be crossed out in a our fields guides and the two new names California Scrub-Jay and Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay can be penciled in.
I photographed this immature Black-billed Magpie in flight last September on Antelope Island State Park as it flew over a rabbitbrush that was just about to bloom.
I know I am looking forward to photographing and watching the Black-billed Magpie nest building ballet that occurs each spring.
The first bird I raised my lens for yesterday was this Black-billed Magpie in a snowstorm near the visitor center.
I only have a few portraits of an adult Black-billed Magpie and yesterday I was able to add several of them to my portfolio.
A couple Woodhouse's Scrub-Jays in Ophir Canyon Road in Tooele County were the most cooperative of the jays that I found.
It isn't often that I am able to take a Black-billed Magpie portrait so when a magpie flies in close enough to me I will jump at the opportunity.
One year ago today I found, pointed out, and photographed a Coyote and Black-billed Magpies scavenging a deer carcass to survive on Antelope Island State Park.
Ravens aren't easy to get close to on Antelope Island State Park so I was happy to photograph this Common Raven in flight two days ago.
Last week I photographed some Black-billed Magpies on Antelope Island State Park and one of them was partially leucistic
So, a quick post this morning of a Clark's Nutcracker that I photographed in July of 2008 on my first trip to Utah to photograph birds prior to moving here in 2009.
Raising the glass attached to my camera that is! I'm excited about the photographic opportunities that will present themselves in 2015.
Yesterday was another interesting day on Antelope Island seeing snow-covered Bison, snowy weather, birds and spotting Coyotes at a Mule Deer carcass.
The past two times I have been to Antelope Island the Black-billed Magpies have put on quite a show and I have enjoyed it.
Today there are great big clouds with small patches of blue sky but two years ago it was very different, we were having a blizzard.
Wilderness brings me peace, hope and the desire to immerse myself into it as much as I possibly can.
Last month I was able to photograph this Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay on my way up to Cascade Springs in Wasatch County, Utah as it perched on an oak near the road.
We catch up and share stories of birds we saw in the warmer months and reveal the journeys we have been on.
Right now on Antelope Island State Park teenaged birds are molting into their adult plumage including young Black-billed Magpies.
This is a follow up on my post from yesterday titled "Help Stop the Utah Crow Hunt" and deals with the codes of the Division of Wildlife Resources and Wildlife Board.
If the proposed crow hunt isn't stopped Common Ravens; fully protected under the MBTA, will almost certainly be killed this coming September because of mistaken identity.
In all my visits to Antelope Island State Park I don't think there has been a single time when I haven't seen or heard Black-billed Magpies.
As Spring Approaches it is a Great Time to be a Bird Photographer in Utah!
Yesterday I was lucky enough to find and point out this springtime Raven perched in front of a field of pink Filaree, a wildflower from the Geranium family.
Yesterday this Black-billed Magpie turned in flight while I was photographing it which allowed me a great dorsal view that showed the iridescent colors well.
There was a sharp, cold wind blowing from the north yesterday and before I was finished photographing these Black-billed Magpies my hands had gone numb.